The Detroit Pistons had plenty of cap space this offseason, yet they’ve done virtually nothing, and the rest of the league has taken note.
It’s a new regime, with a new coaching staff, and there were rumors about ownership finally not being cheap, and spending some money on players. Well, the talk was nice, but it didn’t exactly happen that way.
The Pistons let one of their only young stars walk in free agency, with Christian Wood signing a three-year, $41 million deal with the Rockets — via a sign-and-trade.
But aside from that, they really didn’t do much else.
Veteran big man Blake Griffin remains on the roster, and it doesn’t even look like they’re actively shopping him, even though he doesn’t fit with the rebuild. It’s a very young team, with a new coaching staff, aside from Griffin.
Others around the league have taken note, too, as ESPN released its annual survey, and league executives viewed the Browns’ offseason as the worst in the NBA.
“The team that had the most confusing offseason for rivals was Detroit,” Tim Bontemps wrote. “While some understood passing on re-signing Christian Wood, the decision to instead sign several other centers was seen as odd. So too was the process of stretching contracts essentially to be able to sign Mason Plumlee, who in the eyes of most executives is simply a good backup.”
And there’s more:
“(The Pistons), to me, were the worst offseason by far,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “I don’t know what they are doing at all. I know they want to build long term, but I have no concept of what they are doing. If they hit on(seventh overall pick Killian) Hayes, and (other first-rounders Isaiah) Stewart and (Saddiq) Bey are good, none of this other s— matters that much. But I don’t know what their plan is.”
It’s been another tough year for Pistons fans. The hits just keep on coming, and there really isn’t much to be excited about during this rebuild.
